Parkinson's Ping Pong Players celebrate Leeds-Japan link

Leeds ParkyPING! members with volunteers, Councillor Venner and the three Japanese visitors, at St Stephen’s Church Hall, Kirkstall.

Leeds ParkyPING!, a Leeds table tennis group run by and for people living with Parkinson's Disease has been hosting a group of Japanese players as part of a Leeds-Japan exchange visit. In this guest blog, Rob Cook, one of the group's founders, tells us about how their experiences are helping support the health, wellbeing and cultural understanding of players in both countries.

Members of Leeds ParkyPING! were delighted to welcome three visitors from Japan in September. Mayumi Kanie, Hiromichi Kawai and Satoshi Ohara are all table tennis players, and are all living with Parkinson’s. They came to Leeds as part of a return visit for one undertaken to Japan by a group from Yorkshire and Lancashire in February, which we were a part of.

The visits, were funded by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, and aimed to share how table tennis groups for people with Parkinson’s are run in each country, and to learn from each other.

It was such a pleasure and privilege for me to meet and play table tennis with Japanese people living with Parkinson’s. It’s been brilliant to return the hospitality In Leeds.

I believe that I was invited on the February trip because of the links and relationships I had already built up with some of the Japanese players. In 2022 I went to the Ping-Pong Parkinsons world championships in Pula, Croatia, where I partnered Mayumi Kanie in the mixed doubles.

Despite never having met before, we won a silver medal! We have since kept in touch and been partners in subsequent world championships in Austria and Slovenia.

Mayumi is reigning ITTF World Champion for Women’s Singles.

As well as becoming good friends with Mayumi, I got to know other members of the Japanese team. 

Leeds ParkyPING! - a table tennis group for people with Parkinson’s, founded in July 2023 - is based at St Stephen’s Church Hall, Kirkstall. 

Mayumi, Hiro and Satoshi came to a special session of ParkyPING! They were welcomed to Leeds by Kirkstall Councillor Fiona Venner, before leading everyone in a short warm-up routine, known by everybody in Japan. They played table tennis with members of the group, then all took part in a range of table tennis activities. Several ParkyPINGers had the opportunity to chat with the visitors.

I’m sad to see our friends go home but confident that we will remain in touch and continue to share our experience about Parkinson’s and Table Tennis.

Mayumi Kanie said, in a short speech at ParkyPING! “Among Japanese Parkinson’s table tennis players, Leeds is the most famous city in England!”, which is a wonderful testament to the achievements of this exchange programme.

Note

• Parkinson’s Disease is a degenerative neurological condition for which there is no cure. There are more than 40 symptoms of Parkinson’s, with everybody experiencing the condition differently. Regular exercise is one of the few, perhaps only way of slowing down the symptoms of Parkinson’s. Table Tennis is one of the best forms of exercise if you have Parkinson’s. It is aerobic, and helps with balance, hand eye coordination, anticipation, reflexes and rapid thinking.

• Leeds ParkyPING! meets every week in Kirkstall, with members ranging from complete beginners to very experienced players. All are supportive and help each other. If you have Parkinson’s and are interested in trying Table Tennis, please contact Leeds ParkyPING! by  email - parkyping@gmail.com.

• The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation seeks to promote mutual understanding and cooperation between the UK and Japan through financial support for activities in a number of fields, from Arts and Culture to Humanities and Social Issues, from Japanese Language and Sport and Education, from Science and Technology to Medicine and Health.